


Maybe

by desolateApocalypse



Category: Shadow of the Colossus
Genre: Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 17:47:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19067560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desolateApocalypse/pseuds/desolateApocalypse
Summary: Mono died. Only to wake up in the Afterlife.





	Maybe

**Author's Note:**

> I really like to think that it took a long time for Mono to realized that she was alive.
> 
> It's my a very first time to write anything longer in English, so I'm really sorry for any mistakes.

Mono died.  
It wasn’t through any kind of painful method. Beheading was meant for criminals, not for people who was just unfortunate to be born with cursed fate. So they let her die peacefully, by drinking poison. Nothing that could leave any mark on her body. It felt just like falling asleep.  
And the Afterlife was just like waking up.  
At first, she could only hear loud roaring. A bit like wind or…  
“Blood. It must be blood in my head. I’m still dying” thought Mono, still not quite conscious. But when roaring stopped and Mono realized that she is still there, she still can think and she’s starting to hear screaming of hawks and feel her dress being slightly moved by wind… She slowly opened her eyes.  
She blinked, not able to fully comprehend the fact that she actually could see and feel. She lift herself and sat down on… some kind of stone table? No… altar?  
What was she doing here?  
“Didn’t I die?” thought Mono. But right after it, she understood. “Yes, I died. There’s no Lord Emon, no my crying parents, so I must have died.”  
She looked around. She was in some kind of shrine. It looked old and ruined, like it was forgotten by whoever built it. Outside of a building she could see an empty land. Here and there were trees and hawks, but other than that…  
“So that’s how the Afterlife looks.” Mono slowly slid off the altar and landed on the ground. She could feel a cold of stone floor. She was a bit surprised, until she remembered she died with her boots off. She slowly started to go deeper into the shrine.  
“The Afterlife is so empty. Why there are no people? Do people with cursed fate have a different destination after death? Is that a punishment for having that kind of fate? Being alone for a whole eternity?”  
But then she heard neighing. She looked back only to see a limping horse. Mono hesitated. In her Afterlife were no people, only her and a limping horse? What does that supposed to mean?  
The horse went closer to her and stopped right in front of her. Like it wanted to say it isn’t dangerous and Mono can trust it.  
So Mono cautiously reached for the horse and delicately pet it. It looked a bit happy, but while Mono was petting it, she could feel it was also distressed.  
The horse reminded her a lot of a mare she used to know. But it couldn’t be the same horse – Agro was alive unlike her.  
After a moment horse started to head into the deeper part of the shrine. Mono slowly followed it while looking around. The shrine was a lot more damage that it looked on the first sight. There was no sight of which god was worshipped here. Only ruined statues.  
Mono caught up with the horse. When they were getting closer to an empty fountain, Mono could hear a… baby noises? She gave the horse a sign to stop and she came closer to the fountain. There… she found a baby.

While the Horse lead her somewhere, she started to think that maybe that kind of afterlife wasn’t only a punishment. Maybe it was her second chance. There were no people to judge her, because of her cursed fate. There was a horse and she used to have a horse, which she loved just as much as her family. And there was a baby she never was destined to have during her life. Even if it had horns, probably as part of her punishment, she knew she still could love it.  
And when the horse lead her to the Garden on top of the Shrine. She knew, she can spend a happy afterlife here.

The Boy was growing up fast and healthy. He barely learnt how to walk and a few days later he started to run. Mono enjoyed watching him growing up. She taught him names of animals in the Garden. She taught him to be gentle with the horse, even when the horse’s leg, which was fortunately only sprained, recovered. When he started to talk he became curious.  
“Why do I have horns and you doesn't?”  
“Because you are unique. It should be your pride” she used to answer him.  
And when he was about ten years old, she told him about afterlife.  
And he demanded stories about life before death.  
And she told him.  
She told him about her tribe. About her family. About her mother, who used to scold her for nearly everything, but it was because she loved her and was worried about her. About her father, who let her to do anything she wanted, as long she didn’t put herself into any danger. And about her best friend – a boy, a hunter, who promised her a world, if she’ll marry him. And she would – after all she loved him about as much as he loved her – if it wouldn’t about her curse.  
“You remind me of him” she added with a smile. And she prayed for Wander to forgot about her. To have a happy life. To find a beautiful wife and have a lot of children, brave just like him, and no among them to have a cursed fate as hers.  
But that kind of stories wasn’t enough for the Boy. He demanded to learn about death and gods. Why was he never alive, unlike Mono? Who decided about it?  
And she told the Boy a stories passed down in her tribe since the centuries. She told him about the beginning of the World. About cruel gods and brave heroes. About demons and beautiful maidens. About Forbidden Land and...  
“So it’s just like our home?” asked boy. Mono was stunned. Forbidden Land? Could it be…? Could she be wrong for all those years?  
And Mono felt a new hope. If this is the Forbidden Land, there must be an exit. Maybe they can escape from here. And even if there is no exit, they can just build one. Maybe they can have a life outside of this land. She will show the Boy tribes just like one she belonged a long time ago. And everything she only could tell him. And maybe, one day, she will meet a boy she once really liked – now probably he will be married, but even a single look of him will be enough for her. And maybe the Boy one day will start a family and she will be there to witness it. Maybe… Maybe…


End file.
